Monday, May 6, 2013

When it comes to the plant data, TEPCO remains to be the only game in town, whether you like it or not.

For those of you who are interested in the most recent plant parameters on Reactor 3, the latest data continues to show Reactor 3's Primary Containment Vessel's pressure is more than atmospheric pressure, that they are measuring temperature of the Reactor Pressure Vessel and there is temperature (about 34 degrees Celsius), about 10 degrees Celsius higher than the Reactor 1 RPV. They are spraying water using core spray system, indicating the RPV is there.

Reactor 3's Spent Fuel Pool, now covered with steel sheets, does have spent fuel assemblies in it, as evidenced by the temperature rise of the pool water when the cooling stops (like the recent stoppage because of a dead rat) as well as visual.

Plant status from May 2, 2012 shows Reactor 3's RPV temperature was much higher (nearly 60 degrees Celsius). The CV pressure is about the same, so is the hydrogen concentration inside the CV:

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comments:

It seems interesting that they could collect temp and pressure data from a pressure vessel that no longer exists - which was proven in your post of the picture of the vessel missing yesterday.

However - even if this picture hadn't been published, the information supplied about unit 3 is impossible.

Firstly, the control center for #3 was destroyed in the explosion, as was any instrumentation. Pressure and tempurature instruments would not have survived the explosion.

Secondly, as you point out - no humans or even robots have gotten near the pressure vessel since the explosion. So instrumentation could not have been replaced. Therefore these temps and pressures are impossible to retrieve.

Early on Tepco admitted this, and said all of the #3 figures were "estimates". They must still be, because you have now proven them to be false.

When looking at both pictures of location #3, my first impression was that of looking into a condemned house.

Radiation distribution suggests that the black stuff (soot) seems to have originated from above, like if heat and smoke of a blaze upstairs torched down.Sadly the photos are of such low detail that I cannot recognize much.This assumption could be supported by observing that nearby locations 1 and 2 look comparatively clean. Maybe the containment breached on a higher floor at some penetration and/or the dirt was released through a a containment hatch which popped open due to the blast. I mean, it was definitely locked when the reactor got shut down after the earthquake. Making a massive tresor door's locks break and swing the door open indicates quite some explosive power from the inside.However, the radiation inside the building and near the containment hatch are comparatively low, and so I guess that the main release path was via the concrete reactor plugs at the top floor. If I guessed correctly the equipment hatch (and possibly other penetrations, too) popped open when the pressure spike already subsided. If they would have opened earlier, a much larger part of the releases would have gone through the floors of RB #3, rendering it much more radioactive.

By the way, I find it very interesting that Tepco reduced the overpressure in reactor 3 from 0.28 to 0.25 kPa. This avoids much gas escaping through the equipment hatch and the other perforations, and thus helps slow down the inevitable constant rise of radiation in RB#3.

About my coverage of Japan Earthquake of March 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

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